From the publisher:
A stolen latte results in a meet-cute for the ages in this brand-new edition, with bonus content, of New York Times bestselling author Lynn Painter’s rom-com Accidentally Amy.
Isabella Shay is usually a very honest person. But when she’s running late for her first day at her dream job and the barista yells for “Amy” three times with no answer, she does the unthinkable.
Izzy takes that PSL.
It’s the exact drink she ordered and paid for, only way further ahead in the queue—and she’ll take whatever bad karma is coming for her; she’s desperate and very late. But when she turns around and runs directly into the most attractive man she’s ever seen, spilling the drink all over his made-for-GQ shirt and tie, she ends up having the ultimate meet-cute. Karma who? Sparks fly and things feel beyond promising, until he says to her: “See you tomorrow, Amy.”
Izzy reasons she can just straighten things out the next day, no biggie. Only when she gets to her new office and meets the VP of her department, it is none other than Blake Phillips—the hottie from Starbucks. And the man might’ve been charming to “Amy,” but he is an arrogant grump to Izzy, an arrogant grump who does not find her explanation funny at all. But day by day, an attraction simmers between them and they’ll have to find a way to work together without ripping each other’s heads—or clothes—off.“A charming meet-cute . . . there are plenty of funny and heartwarming moments along the way” —Publishers Weekly
This book started off life as a serial distributed via Painter’s newsletter. She took that serial, fleshed it out some more, and expanded it into this very cute romcom.
The meet-cute sets up the whole story. Izzy is starting a new job and stops at Starbucks on her way in for the first day of Pumpkin Spice Lattes. The place is packed, and as she waits for her drink she starts getting panicky that she will be late for her first day of work. The barista keeps calling “Amy,” and no one is picking up that drink, so in a rash decision, Izzy grabs the PSL for Amy, turns around, and spills it all over a very good-looking man. Mortified, Izzy tries cleaning him up, makes some bad jokes, calls him Mr. Chest due to his fantastic build, and completely intrigues the man. They agreed to meet the next morning back at Starbucks.
Izzy starts her new job, on time, as a Human Resources generalist. It’s a great company to work for, and she is really excited about it until she meets her boss’s boss, and it turns out to be, you guessed it, Mr. Chest from Starbucks, AKA Blake. What Izzy doesn’t know is that Blake has had a bad breakup in the not-too-distant past because he found out the woman was lying to him. So Izzy’s stealing Amy’s latte puts her squarely in liars camp, and he wants no part of that. But they do see each other at work and at Starbucks, and before you know it, they have decided to be friends. This fabulous company they work for has a strict no-fraternization rule when there is a power difference, with no way around it. Until the company merges with another company, and the organizational structure changes. Or does it?
Lots of texting and witty banter lead to real feelings, but the inevitable breakup occurs. Can they find their way back to one another? Of course they can, this is a romance! It is also a fun, entertaining read and doesn’t try to be any more than that, and sometimes, that is enough.
1/2025 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
ACCIDENTALLY AMY by Lynn Painter. Berkley (January 14, 2025). ISBN: 978-0593817087. 352p.
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